Bucolic Briefs

Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro offers a number of upcoming fall classes as part of its sustainable farming program. Following are some of the courses offered: Sustainable Cut Flower Production; Growing Organic Vegetables; Fiber Animals – an overview of raising animals for fiber; Organic Farming; Permaculture Design; Wild Edible Mushrooms and Medicinal Plants and three courses on biofuels. For more on these and other classes go to the online catalog at www.ccc.edu/resources/PDFs/flexi.pdf. To register, call (919) 542-6495, exts. 223 or 241.

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The Mid-Atlantic Professional Rodeo Association will host the following rodeo events in September: Sept. 2 & 3 at the Pitt County Fairgrounds Arena in Greenville, S.C.; Sept. 5 at the Iredell County Fairgrounds in Troutman; Sept. 21 & 22 at the Cumberland County Fairgrounds in Fayetteville; Sept. 28 & 29 at the Robeson County Fairgrounds in Lumberton; Sept. 30 at the Dixie Classic Arena in Winston-Salem. All events start at 8 p.m. Call (704) 882-6994 for more.

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The 2007 Equestrian Exchange Consignment Sale will be held Aug. 31-Sept. 3 in the Holshouser Building at the State Fairgrounds. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 31-Sept. 2 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 3. The sale offers the opportunity to buy and consign anything equestrian related. Pre-registration is required. Volunteers shop before consignors and consignors shop before the public. Items can be dropped off Aug. 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pickup for unsold items will be Sept. 4 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, contact Lynn Beeson at (336) 643-3773.

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The 55th Annual Peanut Field Day will be held Sept. 6 beginning at 9 a.m. at the Peanut Belt Research Station in Lewiston-Woodville (Bertie County). The event features station tours, a business meeting and lunch. For more, contact David Jordan at (919) 515-4068 or e-mail at david_jordan@ncsu.edu

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A group of economic development leaders and area grocers is researching the possibility of establishing a food-processing center to serve the needs of small farmers, food entrepreneurs and caterers. Farmers and business people are encouraged to fill out a survey indicating their interest in using a facility of this nature.
A shared-use, food-processing center is designed to help small farms and food businesses succeed in value-added food production and marketing.

The study seeks to determine the level of demand from potential users, identify lead agencies or organizations that can manage the project and identify suitable locations for the center’s development.

Interested potential users can go to www.orangecountyfarms.org/VASUPintro.asp to fill out the survey. To receive a survey by mail, contact the Orange County Economic Development Commission office at (919) 245-2330 or e-mail Smithson Mills at Smithson@smithsonmills.com.

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Piedmont Biofuels will hold energy management and renewable energy workshops focused on reducing farm energy costs, coping with high and fluctuating energy costs, and capturing all the energy resources available on the farm, including wind, solar and biofuels.

Piedmont Biofuels is offering free tours of its on-farm biodiesel plant near Moncure every Sunday at 1 p.m., or any day of the week by appointment. On-farm biodiesel demonstrations can also be arranged in North Carolina. For more, go to the Piedmont Web site at www.biofuels.coop or call (919) 533-0172.

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The Cabarrus County Fair will host a series of horse events at the fair in September. Following are events and dates: Draft Horse Pull, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. with more than $5,000 in prize money offered for the top teams; Open Youth Horse Show, Sept. 9 at 1 p.m.; Mule and Donkey Show, Sept. 15 at 3 p.m. All events will be held in the Cabarrus Arena. For more or to register, contact Marvin Bost at (980) 521-1302 or e-mail at fouracresfarm@hotmail.com.

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The Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers will host its 2007 National Conference and Trade Show Oct. 1-4 at the North Raleigh Hilton, Raleigh. The conference theme is “Ideas from the Farm” and includes a growers’ school, farm and nursery tours and educational sessions. Cost for the full conference is $395 for members and $520 for non-members before Sept. 3. Participants can choose to attend only certain parts of the conference for reduced rates.

For more or to register, go to www.ascfg.org or call Linda Twining at (440) 774-2887.

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The Person County Saddle Club in Roxboro will host a Draft Horse, Mule, Donkey and Open Horse Show Sept. 8 at 11 a.m. Halter, pleasure, log skidding, game and other classes will be offered. A negative Coggins test is required for each equine. For more, contact Rob Hall, (336) 599-4039.

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The N.C. Forestry Association will hold its annual meeting Oct. 10-12 at the New Bern Sheraton Hotel and Marina in New Bern. The theme is “A Focus on Energy” and includes presentations on current energy sources, biofuels, new partnerships for energy, biomass energy, carbon credits and a renewable energy portfolio standard. For more information, call the NCFA at (800) 231-7723.

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The Mid-State Tractor Heritage Association will host a fundraising tractor parade Oct. 14 in downtown Asheboro. The event benefits Jim’s Kids, a group helping disabled children. Registration begins at 8 a.m., with the parade starting at 11 a.m. This event is open to the public. For more information or to register, call Alex Gilmore at (336) 879-6412 or 736-0435, or Kelly Wicker at (336) 629-4303.

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The Lord Granville Agricultural Heritage Association will hold a Harvest Show Oct. 27 & 28 at the Southern Livestock Center, Oxford. Restored tractors, antique engines and horse-drawn farm equipment will be on display. The event also features a ¼ scale lawn tractor pull, crafts and food. For more, contact Al Gulvin, (919) 528-1652.

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The Southeast Strawberry Expo will be held Nov. 11-13 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham featuring grower sessions and an extensive tradeshow. The Expo program includes a plasticulture workshop for new growers and presentations on Florida growers’ efforts to replace methyl bromide. Other sessions focus on finding and keeping good labor, spring companion crops, frost protection decision-making, high tunnel production and farm market ideas.

For more information, go to www.ncstrawberry.com or contact the N.C. Strawberry Association at ncstrawberry@mindspring.com or call (919) 542-3687.

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The Carolina Feed Industry Association’s Fall Conferences will be held Nov. 12-14 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham. Following are specific dates: Nov. 12-14 Technical Sponsored Symposium; Nov. 13 Feed Production Technology School, Swine Nutrition School; Nov. 14 Poultry Nutrition Conference. Class costs range from $65-$125. For more, contact Bonnie Holloman, executive director, CFIA, (919) 855-8981 or e-mail at bhollom@bellsouth.net.

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The Fifth Annual One Medicine Symposium, focusing on the connection between human and veterinary medicine’s response to terrorism, disease and natural disasters, will be held Dec. 12-13 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center in Durham. The event is geared towards animal and human health care providers. This year’s theme is “Globalization and Emerging Risks: A One Medicine Approach to a Changing World.” For registration or information, go to www.onemedicineNC.org or call (919) 966-4032.

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The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services encourages livestock producers to register their farms with the NCFarmID program. NCFarmID is a voluntary program to register farms for a national identification number as a way to protect livestock in the event of a disease outbreak. For more, contact NCDA&CS at (919) 715-2951 or go to www.NCFarmID.com.

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